HOLIHAN HOPING TO MAKE THE MOST OF DOUBLE POINTS
Daniel Holihan thought his season was all but over after the last round with the Supercars at Sydney Motor Sport Park. However, it was decided at the very last minute by Formula Ford New South Wales that there would be an added double points round at Wakefield Park on December 11th and 12th.
Holihan has had the most consistent season to date with his new team, Barton Mawer Motorsport, finishing second five-times in a row in the Kent 1600 Formula Ford category. He’s moved up four spots from eighth in the standings in the New South Wales State Formula Ford 1600 Championship short-end season. A lot of luck has to go his way to mathematically win the 2021 1600 New South Wales championship. With both of his arch rivals on-track, Josh Cummins and Scott Tidyman, have to DNF at least once for Holihan to be able to catch them in points.
“We’ve been working really hard during the lockdown to prepare for Dan to go as hard as possible out of the gate and he has done just that. He performs really well under pressure, so having double points up for grabs at Wakefield Park really gives us hope as a team that Dan can do the best job he can out on track when we are down in Goulburn in a few weeks time,” said team manager Barton Mawer.
188 max (94 x2) championship points are on offer in the final round of the season, leaving the Barton Mawer led team a chance to challenge for as high as 2nd in the outright points score, which would move him up a further two spots in the championship if things pan out well for him. However, a lot of luck has to go his way, even if he clean sweeps the weekend. Daniel Holihan could’ve been a much bigger threat to 1600 championship leader Scott Tidyman if he hadn’t missed round one of the season, but with the double points up for grabs he certainly can chase the rest of the title contenders down in the final round. Realistically, Holihan will be aiming to finish at least third in the overall 1600 points championship after missing the first round of the season.
“It’s going to be a pressure cooker on December 11/12 thats for sure, both Josh (Cummins) and Scott (Tidyman) are pretty motivated to win that 1600 Formula Ford Championship. I’ll just sit back, watch and see what happens between the two of them and do my own thing. Hopefully I’m out in-front and away from the rest of the drama behind me, thats the goal next week. Overall the team has been working really hard in the background at the shop, especially Bart and my mechanic Julian, to at least try and win some races next week or even next season. I came back to this 1600 category because I see it as un-finished business. I’ve had endless podiums in the 1600 class, but I’ve always been the bridesmaid and never been the outright champion. So if I could somehow manage to win it next week or next year it would be a dream come true for me as a driver. I’ve always wanted to hold that trophy,” said team driver Daniel Holihan.
Holihan scored a pole award and $250 cheque last time out in Goulburn, but if he can bring the same momentum into the final round as the last couple of rounds he could possibly become a threat to the rest of the pack at Wakefield Park. We will all find out in a few weeks time.